Friday, August 24, 2012

As summer draws to an end we here at Bucks County Renewables would normally be looking ahead to the annual Energy Fest in Kempton PA. However, in July it was announced that the Board of MAREA had decided not to pursue mounting it in the face of a significant drop-off in vendor registration. All vendor fees that had been received were promptly refunded & exhibitors were very graciously thanked for their participation in what has been a wonderful, long-running grassroots effort to bring something that was outside of the mainstream further in.

In my opinion that Board made a sensible decision. Competition from the much-larger Mother Earth News Fair at Seven Springs which -- for the first time -- is occuring on the same date) was sure to diminish the revenue from a festival funded exclusively by vendor fees, admissions & a few small grants & sponsored by a very small but closeknit & effective nonprofit organization. By honorably choosing to protect all its members from the risks of losing money by putting on the Energy Fest, MAREA has preserved both financial resources & energy to pursue their other grassroots educational projects, such as the solar hot water for Opportunity House in Reading, PA; their wonderful monthly speaker series; and many other community projects & workshops.

These are exciting times for the organization, though it was sad for those of us who cherish Kempton to give it up! Fortunately for EV'ers who wouldn't dream of missing a weekend opportunity to haul their EV somewhere out of range & camp out for a few days talking their throats hoarse with each other & the general public, our friends in WESTERN Pennsylvania, PA Electrics & Three Rivers EVA, are organizing EV owners from Pittsburgh to Philly & beyond to come together and show their cars at the Mother Earth News Fair -- vehicle exhibitors have the $20 daily entrance fee waived.

Seven Springs is admittedly a lot farther away than Kempton from us here in southeastern parts. Folks from Three Rivers EVA are making plans to gather their right now, including Jon Belak & his family who have joined us two or three years in a row at Kempton with an array of sweet vehicles. This is a great opportunity to make a connection going in the other direction!

I wish I could be there but I can't get away -- being retired from the EV world is sometimes a bummer, though as a (huge) consolation I get to drive a Vanagon (yes, a GAS one). Meanwhile the Miata really is being driven by M, who loves driving it & loves tweaking it. Liquid cooled controller upgrade anyone? He won't let me take any pictures though, and that's okay; it's his car now.

Here is the other big news: because I am a fickle woman & only truly love a Vanagon that runs, I am selling off the e-Van! I didn't mean to do it yet but Saint Bill totally jumped the gun on me and put a Craigslist ad out on it when I merely mentioned the idea back on August 13. We have had no nibbles yet which is fine as I am busy busy busy. But, I am not going to let any old random person from Craigslist buy the e-Van for $10,000 when I could have someone who actually read this blog pay $8K only, so here finally is the ad (it's kinda buried at the end of this post which is the point).

I know there is somebody out there who is really jonesing for an orange electric Vanagon. This one's lead-acid batteries are shot & it's a perfect candidate
for upgrading to lithium-ion, in which case WHO KNOWS HOW MUCH FUN YOU
COULD HAVE.

Don't call me on the phone! I am on voice rest. Email jisaacs at buckscountyrenewables.com if you are interested.

What's This Blog All About?

here is a link to the official bucks county renewables website

EV's in Macungie

Why Electric Vehicles?

If you are new to EV's, watch the six-minute video below to learn about the history and advantages of all-electric vehicles. The video features our converted 1991 Dodge Colt.

E-Vanagon Rolls!

Click below for a clip of our 1985 Volkswagen Vanagon EV rolling for the first time on August 10, 2007. It was converted by the participants in a two-week EV Conversion Workshop sponsored by Bucks County Renewables, and then re-converted and upgraded during a second workshop in 2009.